With 61 alumni serving, UC Davis is ranked No. 13 this year among large U.S. universities in the number of students who have served as Peace Corps volunteers.

This data represents UC Davis' highest ranking and greatest number of volunteers since the Peace Corps began its annual surveys in 2003. UC Davis, ranked 14th last year among schools with 15,000 or more students, has appeared among the top 25 large universities every year.

Tradition of volunteerism

Fred Wood, vice chancellor for Student Affairs at UC Davis, said, "Our entire UC Davis community should be extremely proud of the large number of alumni who have volunteered to serve in the Peace Corp both this year and throughout the history of the program. This achievement continues the proud UC Davis tradition of volunteerism by our students, staff, faculty and alumni, to serve our region, the nation and the world."

Since 1961, more than 1,300 Aggies have joined the Peace Corps, making UC Davis the No. 19 all-time producer of Peace Corps volunteers. UC Berkeley maintains the number one all-time rank, with 3,412 alumni having served. This year, the University of Washington holds the top rank for large schools with 101 Peace Corps volunteers in the field today.

Peace Corps volunteers typically serve 27 months overseas, promoting peace and helping communities address needs in education, health, business, agriculture and the environment.

'Idealistic people'

"There are a lot of idealistic people at the university and in the town, so that encourages students to volunteer," said Nathaniel Quesenberry, a 2005 UC Davis graduate in wildlife biology, in a Peace Corps news release.

Quesenberry joined this Aggie tradition of service Feb. 17 when he began training as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia.

"Davis was founded as an agricultural college, so students are interested in working with people and in the environment," he said.

How it works

The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer-producing schools according to the size of each school's student body. The rankings are calculated based on fiscal year 2009 data as of Sept. 30, 2009 as self-reported by Peace Corps volunteers.

Today, there are 7,671 Peace Corps volunteers serving in 76 countries around the world. More Peace Corps volunteers come from California than any other state.

More information: peacecorps.gov.